I'm sorry Blackrock that is poor riding. Had I been driving behind you I would have been shaking my head at you and cringing at your riding.

-I REALLY hope you did do a head check before crossing the slip lane, too many times I've seen cyclists crossing slip lanes without so much as a head check. This is despite the fact that YOU are required to give way if you are riding in the shoulder. -Presuming you did do a head check you would have known there was a truck behind you. So why did choose to stay riding outside the road markings?

By choosing to ride outside of the delineated road you are not only losing many of your legal rights but you are communicating to the road users around you that you wish to ride NEXT to the road rather than on the road. Make you intentions and position clear! You weren't even riding on the road you were riding on the shoulder for 99% of that video!

(Of course truck driver still shouldn't have passed you the way he did. But you were sending the please pass me message loud and clear!)

Everyone is allowed an opinion and they're clearly all different.

I head checked before I passed the slip road and thanked a driver that had slowed for me. Check the video.

I didn't make the driver take that chance to pass. I was in front and he could see me, the oncoming traffic and the lane space. He made the decision. This is of course inconsequential if I got totalled!! I don't have a drama riding roadside of the line as usually there is enough room for a car to pass if I'm on or roadside of the line(check out the corolla at the end).Guess I might start taking the lane here and posting videos of tooting horns instead

I reckon that as long as they don't cut me up close, and stay back patiently when there is not enough room to get past, whatever they are saying inside the car, or even tooting their horn at me, is all of no consequence. I have a narrow section through a couple of places (60kmh speed limit) on my commute where the lanes are not wide enough for cars to share space. I claim the full lane and I never get any notable flak from drivers, they drive behind or change lanes to go by. Simple really.

Driving west along Reid Highway from Altone Road towards Tonkin Highway is a single carriageway, 1 lane in each direction. Starting at the signals at Altone Road, where 2 lanes merge into 1, the cars were merging very very very slowly and I was wondering what on earth for. Then I saw the black Porsche Cayman with a dark green Ford Festiva right up its arse, stopping and starting. At first, before I realised what the car in front was, I thought the Festiva was being rope-towed, the movements were that erratic and slow.

Driving along in the 90km/h zone behind these two morons, they are stop starting, particularly the Porsche which is in front and is trying to show off by accelerating at its capacity, then slamming on the brakes, rinse and repeat. At Beechboro Road, where the road widens to 2 lanes each way, I overtake both vehicles, wanting to get the hell away from them ASAP. About 10 seconds after I do, first the Porsche overtakes, then the Festiva follows - at this point, I'm in the left turn slip lane into Tonkin, as is the Porsche, and the Festiva veers left across three lanes to get there.

Then on Tonkin Highway, they go side-by-side and slow down to about 30km/h, completely blocking all traffic even though the lights at Benara Road are green. Then the Porsche accelerates like a mad man again and the Festiva can't keep up. I turned off, so that's where I left these two morons.

arkle wrote:Good grief. Half the time you lot sound like a bunch of egg-bound hens cluck cluck cluck cluck clucking at each other.

arkle

Do what? I mean, I haven't the faintest idea what you're on about. Maybe it's 'cos I've never lived or worked on a chook farm, so I don't know what an egg-bound hen does. You'll have to give me some help here.

arkle wrote:Good grief. Half the time you lot sound like a bunch of egg-bound hens cluck cluck cluck cluck clucking at each other.

arkle

Do what? I mean, I haven't the faintest idea what you're on about. Maybe it's 'cos I've never lived or worked on a chook farm, so I don't know what an egg-bound hen does. You'll have to give me some help here.

Have you heard about henny penny "The sky is falling!"---Nothin to worry about Londonboy, we only keep an eye out for dropbears

Last edited by Dragster1 on Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

Knowing the Prospect Hwy, unlike most of the commentators, I'd stop and wait for a gap at that narrowing. With half the drivers in M4 mode and the other half hell bent to get to other points, it would only be a matter of when, not if, you'd get cleaned up even dead centre of the lane.

I'll be doing Henry Lawson Drive today, which is pretty similar speeds - generally not the volume though, M5 nearby, heavy vehicle route and a narrow bridge preceded by a merging lane where I'll stop if I can't see a decent gap - you couldn't guarantee full driver attention even if you had strobes going!

Blackrock, are you heading south on that video, going down the new lights??

If that's where it is, I claim the lane WITHOUT EXCEPTION as I go over the bridge, and I'm a bit of pain when I claim it (sneaking in front of cars when possible etc). Drivers will understand that they aren't doing themselves any favours trying to get in front of you because you'll be out of the way within 30 seconds, and the nature of the intersections is that slow moving traffic doesn't have to slow everyone down. Trucks and pushies can go in a second lane at red lights, or around a corner. The whole place is a boxed in dogs breakfast, claim the lane and get out of the saddle to make it look like you are working hard for your position.

Here is the rub - they hit you, and they block up the WHOLE ROAD FOR EVERYONE. They let you go, they lose 10 seconds but you disappear from their life forever.

I want to point out that the M4/GWH off ramp area on Prospect Highway is extremely intimidating... I think Blackrock's heart in the right place, but I think he needs to put his nuts in the right place because you can't make them happy, and it really is a very very very short stretch of road that you are claiming, and you have opportunity to go onto the breakdown lane easily straight after. I feel it's different to other roads in the area when you could potentially be following the bike for a long time if the lane is claimed.

What share path? LOL it's good for jogging pace riding, and frankly I'd prefer to take my chances in the main flow of on road traffic because the intersections are hardcore diabolical, with vehicles previously entering at 60-80kmh around the corners. Not a good situation for a roadie missing their clip in.

It just goes to show that you have to put your shared path as the top priority for an area if you want to make sure it is used. Big old red lights and warnings to slow before stopping are required down there to change the old driver assumptions. I LIVE HERE and I don't expect to stop coming off M4 or GWH in a car... and I'm probably one of the main riders in that strip of road with blackrock LOL

My welcome back to cycling after a few weeks off. Just left the house. its 6am. 2 minutes into the ride going through suburbia before I hit the main road. The road has multiple islands and tree's in the middle so I always take the lane in this section for my safety. its a short section but once the islands are out of the way ill move across to let cars past.No need for that this morning as the large 4WD that pulled in behind me during this section decided to cross the islands and drive in the oncoming lane and shout abuse at me. Funny thing is I got to the stop sign at the same time. So the 2 seconds i slowed him down for wasn't really a wise move, which also could have caused a major issue with oncoming cars if there were any. Had camera running but not enough light at that time in the morning to clearly see. But can definitely hear the colourful language.

Blackrock wrote:On suggestion of others in the Commuting thread, here's a close call with a smaller truck and trailer. Prospect highway, Sydney. That stretch is an advertisement for life insurance if there ever was one!!

Yep. Um... perhaps not the best of choices on your part there, though. Maybe either take the lane, or get up on the footpath for the bridge section (or choose a less dodgy route) ?

Lukeyboy wrote:Run a red light then expect to cop the same fine as everybody else.

So, elighten me...... are they going to apply the same fines to pedestrians running red lights? And are they going to be seriously enforcing that in the CBD?

Because by gosh that'll help bolster the state's revenues - help pay for their East-West Tunnel boondoggle

But I doubt that'll be the case. Too much voter backlash.

Hehehe... I would have cruised (carefully) through that maelstrom with a very joyful, enthusiastic and totally justified "Mooooooooove!!" +/- optional epithets for those that took exception to the suggestion.

Lukeyboy wrote:Run a red light then expect to cop the same fine as everybody else.

So, elighten me...... are they going to apply the same fines to pedestrians running red lights? And are they going to be seriously enforcing that in the CBD?

Because by gosh that'll help bolster the state's revenues - help pay for their East-West Tunnel boondoggle

But I doubt that'll be the case. Too much voter backlash.

Hehehe... I would have cruised (carefully) through that maelstrom with a very joyful, enthusiastic and totally justified "Mooooooooove!!" +/- optional epithets for those that took exception to the suggestion.

human909 wrote:I would have ridden through carefully because the behaviour above sounds alot like aggression towards vulnerable road users to me.

come on. that's not a little bit red. it's green for the opposite direction. There's an intersection I go through and nearly every day I have to remind pedestrians crossing against the red lights to look first.

Blackrock wrote:On suggestion of others in the Commuting thread, here's a close call with a smaller truck and trailer. Prospect highway, Sydney. That stretch is an advertisement for life insurance if there ever was one!!

Lukeyboy wrote:Run a red light then expect to cop the same fine as everybody else.

So, elighten me...... are they going to apply the same fines to pedestrians running red lights? And are they going to be seriously enforcing that in the CBD?

Because by gosh that'll help bolster the state's revenues - help pay for their East-West Tunnel boondoggle

But I doubt that'll be the case. Too much voter backlash.

i have come across this type of situation on my motorbike. Combined with my horn and VERY loud exhaust plus a couple of downshifts i think a few peds had to change there undies when they got back to the office

Blackrock wrote:On suggestion of others in the Commuting thread, here's a close call with a smaller truck and trailer. Prospect highway, Sydney. That stretch is an advertisement for life insurance if there ever was one!!

Whatever you opinion is re claiming the lane, that was bloody close!!

I think some of you more experienced people should show him how to take a lane in front of a fully loaded truck with a trailer

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